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APPEARANCES Q2.44-6

No matter how voluminous your hijab is, it cannot conceal a bad attitude. Likewise, a huge beard cannot hide an evil heart.
People see through these things. You may be able to fool some of the people most of the time but you draw the wool over everyone’s eyes forever.
In as much as our outward appearance is important, and shows that we are not ashamed to be identified as Muslims, we should not forget that the best form of invitation to Islam is a beautiful and exemplary character. Our influence as role models should not be used negatively.

As Muslims, we should not encourage others to ridicule the hijab, trousers or beard. No matter the length or size, we should preserve our brothers’ and sisters’ honour and not join in backbiting them. It makes no sense to look like a Muslim, talk like one but act in a non-Islamic way. however, this is not to say we shouldn’t correct the wrongs we see in other Muslims but we should do so with tact and propriety.
Our appearances should serve to remind us of our duties as full-time ambassadors of Islam and should help us act better and with humility. The fact that we look like Muslims should not make us look down on those who do not. The fact that we can be identified as Muslims should deter us from being discourteous, breaking rules, shoplifting, fighting and making a spectacle of ourselves in public. This taints other Muslims and reinforces the wrong stereotype people have in their minds about us.

Do not be a source of derision to the Ummah. Be an exemplar as a Muslim, whether or not you wear the hijab or possess a beard; but especially because you do.